


we only know us

by cosmic_interference



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bending (Avatar), Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Slow Burn, Smut, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, but ill try, dont i?, i actually don't know if i can do that lol, i just like modern aus where they still bend, man i have to edit this tag at some point, some smut?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:48:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29034192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmic_interference/pseuds/cosmic_interference
Summary: Zuko had at this point grown used to the usual gradual color change in his vision for the better part of his life. It was around age thirteen when it first started. He’d been on his way back home from school when he saw creeping red.Literally.The sidewalk beneath turned red. The grass turned red. The bench turned red. All the lights on the traffic light across the street turned red.Everythingturned red. If he hadn’t known this day would come, he would have had a panic attack right there, claiming he’d been possessed by some kind of spirit.But he was ready. Have been since he was ten and was told about the possibility of his soulmate. Soulmate. It was someone who would want to be with him. He could hardly wait.
Relationships: Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	we only know us

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is a Soulmates AU based on this prompt I got from Tumblr. 
> 
> _Colors of your vision changes depending on your soulmates mood. yellow is optimistic, green is envious, blue is upset, etc. and natural colors become present once the soulmates meet._
> 
> Here is a list of some of the color/emotion pairs I’ve decided on. Might add some more but here they are for now. Let me know what you think:
> 
> Yellow, Happy/Optimistic  
> Green, Envy/Jealousy  
> Blue, Upset/Sad  
> Red, Angry  
> Orange, Contemplative  
> Magenta, Desire  
> Purple, Concern  
> Gray, In Danger

Zuko had at this point grown used to the usual gradual color change in his vision for the better part of his life. It was around age thirteen when it first started. He’d been on his way back home from school when he saw creeping red. 

Literally. 

The sidewalk beneath turned red. The grass turned red. The bench turned red. All the lights on the traffic light across the street turned red.  _ Everything _ turned red. If he hadn’t known this day would come, he would have had a panic attack right there, claiming he’d been possessed by some kind of spirit. 

But he was ready. Have been since he was ten and was told about the possibility of his soulmate.  _ Soulmate _ . It was someone who would want to be with him. He could hardly wait. 

But years passed and at age 19, he still had not met them, though he knew intimately what they were feeling at all times. 

Today, as he was reading a book, his vision shifted blue. His brows furrowing, he talked to no one in particular. 

“Are you okay?” 

The color did not change for an entire hour, and he had to make dinner with his vision blue. It was easy enough. He’d already been experiencing this for six years and had thus developed a system when it happened. He’d labelled every pack of food in his fridge and bought measuring cups and proceeded with dinner preparations just fine. In the next hour as he was reading his book, the blue faded, melting away slowly and then disappearing. He was growing worried. The blue had been almost the only emotion he was seeing lately. He wondered if she’d been upset about something school-related, something he could definitely relate with. Or if she’d been dumped by a boyfriend. 

That last thought stuck with him, so that as he fell asleep, somewhere in the night, Katara wondered why the moon slowly turned green. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, friends! I confess it’s a little nostalgic that my AO3 comeback is through a Zutara fic but it’s just that I have rewatched ATLA in this stupid quarantine and itched to write some Zutara. When I first saw ATLA, I was too young to be writing Zutara fanfiction. So now that I’m older, you bet I’m writing down some Zutara realness. 
> 
> As it stands, I still have no exact direction in mind for this fic. All I know is that I’m going to make it short. I don’t have the patience to write a long fic right now, especially since I’ve just been slowly reintroducing writing fic back into my daily life. 
> 
> As for the worldbuilding on this fic, half of the reason I was inspired by this prompt was because I also liked the idea that every emotion affects the other in some kind of way. Just like in a real relationship. I decided to depict the color change as a gradual shift as opposed to a sudden flash. If it _does_ come out a sudden flash, it meant the person had been hiding the emotion from their soulmate and the flash is because they couldn’t hide it anymore. The original prompt (see above) said the characters will only be seeing the world in black and white and that natural colors will only be present once they meet their soulmate but I really didn’t vibe with that lol. So I just changed it into this. 😁 
> 
> **For the Reylos:**  
>  For those who have been waiting for Before There Was Them to update, I promise I already have a draft of the next chapter and it is currently in the process of being edited. So, fear not! 
> 
> ANYWAY, that’s it for the prologue. If you’re also here because it’s missing Zutara hours, know that I am with you. Heh. Cheers!


End file.
